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Thread: Free to Air channel set ups - South Africa - Using DSD 4139_2

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    Default Free to Air channel set ups - South Africa - Using DSD 4139_2

    Good morning all. Thanks for having me on here.

    I reside in South Africa and at our complex each block has a Satellite dish which we connect our DSD box to in our units. I have a DSD 4139_2 device, uses OpenView HD for free to air channel subscription.

    I would like to learn how to use this DSD box to change/point to other free to air channel services to begin. I had read on programming the LNB or something to the effect but i wanted to ask if you fellow people could provide a good guide as to how?

    If this is also possible I would like to read on it more as well. Would it be possible to use the DSD box to plug in the LNB cable and then use this to connect the DSD to a computer and tv card to scan for channels or use this for any additional service/s? I thought it may be possible to use the set up for internet access as well...

    But I am not fully sure of what I can use the box for and how to get additional services out of it.
    Please help clarify for me and thank you in advance.

    Cheers.



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    If it's an Altech UEC box it's likely that it's locked to that particular service and you may not be able to access anything else on it.

    Do you have a link to the model of decoder and also the service it receives?

    What satellite is the service on?

    Forum member AdrianR is in SA, so he may be able to provide some info.

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    Hi tcpdwpzn,

    It depends which satellite you are getting OVHD from, as I assume you will not be able to touch/adjust the dish, given multiple-user setup.

    OVHD is broadcast on the SES 5 satellite at 5° east (the Sub Saharan Africa beam), and on the Intelsat 20 satellite at 68.5° east (the same satellite DStv is broadcast on, the South Africa spotbeam).





    If you scroll down on these pages you'll find the logo eventually, next to its frequency, with all the other parameters - symbol rate, FEC, etc.

    Now, just like OVHD is listed there, you need to look for other channels with the same beam (under the frequency in the left-most column) because that means the dish will pick them up too (any beam that covers South Africa will work, you can click on the beam name and see map coverage).

    Basically, it then just becomes a case of entering those values for whichever channel you wish into the decoder.

    Free channels are light shaded colour rows and have a little red "F" in a white block in their row.

    The only thing is, OVHD is basically all of the "best" free channels already packaged into a package. You won't be missing much else to be honest.

    If you look on those lyngsat pages, you'll see the other free channels available are mostly religious channels.

    The only one I see that may be interesting is Botswana TV's little package of a few channels. Don't know it, never watched it, but you never know.

    The decoder itself, never used it, but I'm sure there will be a "Dish Installation" or "Satellite settings" menu or something similar. To enter the menu, it may ask for a PIN-code which may be 9949, but not always (it should give it in the manual). Once inside this menu, you can usually set up quite a few channels.

    Free channels is as far as you can go with this box I would imagine. No internet, connecting to PC, etc. this box is probably just designed basically to receive satellite TV channels only, OVHD at that. It may not even let you enter the other free channels to be honest.

    MTV - if I can describe this service, it's almost something like VAST, just a lot smaller in the volume of channels.
    Last edited by irritant; 16-03-17 at 11:50 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by AdrianR View Post
    MTV - if I can describe this service, it's almost something like VAST, just a lot smaller in the volume of channels.
    When I read the OP, and saw it was a UEC box, I suspected it might be a similar 'locked' service.

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    Default Options / Alternatives to pickup TV channels

    Hi all. Thank you to the both of you having a look and advising what is not possible with this.

    I want to ask then, being a newbie to using this sort means to find TV. What are other ways in which I could use a TV Tuner/Capture card in a PC or an open (unlocked) decoder (makes/models?) using an LNB cable from our complex's shared Satellite dish?

    I dont mind giving things a try with regards to this, if I can find other ways of finding "free" TV. Trying to avoid other means. I have Kodi etc at my bro's place. I wanted to see other ways I could with Satellite.

    Thank you in advance.

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    You need to tell us which satellite your complex's shared satellite dish it pointing at.

    That will determine what services are available on that satellite.

    Being a shared system may also have some restrictions on use, such as the way signals are distributed throughout your complex.

    Without knowing exactly what the distribution system setup involves, we are only guessing.

    All I can suggest is trying a satellite receiver which has a blindscan feature and scan the two satellites AdrianR mentioned that carry OVHD (SES 5 and Intelsat 20) 1. to determine which satellite the dish is pointed at. 2. to see if your complex system signal distribution system will work with other decoders.

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    If your dish is pointing roughly eastward and is pointing close to what seems horizontal (in the same direction as DStv dishes of other people), it is pointing at Intelsat 20 @ 68.5°E, as that satellite is at about 30° elevation in our country. If the dish is pointing more northwards and pointing at a high angle up into the sky, it is more likely pointing at SES 5 @ 5°E. This satellite has a higher elevation in our country, about 60°.

    Ku band in South Africa (the frequency band this dish is working on, and what's used by DStv and OVHD) doesn't offer much really, no matter what satellite you're pointing at. In our neck of the woods, you get more when you erect one of those black mesh dishes (something larger than 2.5m) or a solid prime focus and go for C-band.

    The Ku-band satellites covering Australia and New Zealand, especially the Optus sats, offer a nice variety of free channels. Here, we are stuck for options. The Ku band sats here are all occupied by subscription packages, such as DStv, as these sats provide the best coverage over South Africa in the form of spot beams.

    You start getting more stuff when you go for the global beam coverage which you get on C-band, because those channels are meant for a wide global audience and wide coverage. As such the signals are by definition weaker (wider means more spread out), so you of course need a bigger dish.

    Admittedly, we are not spoilt for choice here on the southern tip of Africa when it comes to sat coverage and especially free channels.

    EDIT: If you originally had Top TV but now changed to OVHD without (them) doing anything to the dish, you'll be pointing at SES 5.
    Last edited by irritant; 22-03-17 at 04:10 AM.
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